Next Week in WDV Athletics!
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2023 WDV Boy’s Varsity Volleyball Ring Ceremony- Today @ 4:15pm!
Please join us as we honor the 2023 Boy’s Varsity Volleyball team with their Championship rings. They traveled many miles and played many hours, winning the California Interscholastic Federation, Southern Section (CIF-SS) Division 5 Championship and placing third at the CIF State Division 3 playoffs.
The ceremony will take place today: Monday, September 18th.
Time: Approximately 4:15-4:30pm (after the Girl’s junior varsity game and before the girl’s varsity game against Lawndale High School)
Location: WDV Gym
201 N. Douglas Street
El Segundo, CA 90245
WDV Girls Basketball Try-Outs Update
All girls interested in trying out for girls basketball please report to the gym at 4:15pm on September 11th and 12th.
The tryouts will be conducted by Coach Duane Faust, head coach for Girls Varsity Basketball. Coach Duane has asked that you bring two things to tryouts:
- Proper attire (shorts, shoes, t-shirts)
- Proper mentality
WDV Boys Soccer Tryouts Reschedule
There will be no tryouts today for Boys Soccer due to Back to School night tonight.
There will be a make-up day Friday, September 8th at Anza Elementary from 4:30pm-6:30pm.
If you have any questions, please contact Coach Rafa at rcarranza@davincischools.org
WDV Boys Soccer Try-Outs
Do you have a passion to play soccer? Do you think you have what it takes to represent the Wiseburn-Da Vinci boys soccer?
Coach Carranza will be hosting try-outs for the WDV Boys Soccer Program on the following dates:
September 5th, 6th, and 7th for 9th and 10th graders.
September 12th, 13th, and 14th for 11th and 12th graders.
All try-outs will be held at Juan Anza Elementary School from 4:30pm-6:00pm on the designated dates.
If you have any questions, please contact Coach Carranza at rcarranza@davincischools.org
WDV welcomes Coach Mimi as the new Girls Varsity Soccer Head Coach
Meet Coach Mimi Nartey, a remarkable woman whose journey through soccer and education has left an indelible mark on both fields.
Coach Mimi’s passion for soccer was ignited at a young age. She played competitive club soccer for multiple national championship teams and participated in the U.S. Olympic Development Program at the regional level. She played in several international youth soccer tournaments across Europe and received several distinctive accolades and a scholarship from Gatorade. She was a top recruit at dozens of NCAA Division I programs and earned an “All-Ivy” distinction as a player at Columbia University, where she did her undergraduate and graduate education.
As a teenager, she earned a spot on the Ghana National Women’s Soccer Team and eventually earned a silver medal in the 2002 FIFA African Cup of Nations. Her dedication and skill contributed to the team’s strong showing in the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She also played for the Portland Rain in the W-League that preceded the NWSL.
Beyond her prowess on the field, Coach Mimi is an accomplished academic. She transitioned seamlessly from the soccer field to the classroom, becoming an award-winning college professor of environmental sciences and public health at prestigious institutions such as UCLA, LMU, and Occidental. She taught a course entitled “Women’s Sports and Empowerment” at Occidental College, and she has a TEDx talk on that subject.
With a heart dedicated to nurturing young talents, Mimi embarked on a coaching journey spanning over 25 years, focusing on youth soccer. Coach Mimi’s leadership has guided numerous youth teams to victory, capturing the Cal South State Cup championship and securing a spot in the finals of the same esteemed tournament in consecutive years.
A testament to her international coaching expertise, Coach Mimi proudly led a youth girls’ team to the playoffs of the Gothia World Youth Cup in Sweden, a feat that reflects her ability to empower and inspire young players to excel on the global stage. Several of the players she has trained and mentored have gone on to play at completive college soccer programs and have represented multiple nations in youth and senior FIFA Women’s World Cups, and she was named Honorary Head Coach at LMU. Her impact extends far beyond the field, shaping the lives of countless individuals through the beautiful game of soccer and academic mentorship.
Coach Mimi currently coaches a girls’ team at Beach FC and is a parent educator to her middle school son, Lincoln, and high school daughter, Liya, in the Da Vinci Connect program. Liya played on the Wiseburn-Da Vinci varsity soccer team as a freshman last year.
Coach Mimi aims to continue to weave her legacy as a pioneering force in both soccer and education, leaving an imprint on the sport, her students, and the aspiring athletes she guides toward excellence. She is looking forward to a memorable season with the Wiseburn-Da Vinci Wolves!
“You can never be overdressed or overeducated.” – Oscar Wilde
WDV Girls Basketball Try-Outs and Information
Coach Faust will be hosting a Meet and Greet during lunch times on September 5th and September 6th in front of the Crossfit Box. Coach Faust will be there to answer any questions the students may want to ask him in regards to the WDV Girls Basketball Program.
Try-outs for the WDV Girls Basketball team will be held on September 7th in the gym from 4:15pm-6:15pm and September 11th from 4:15pm-6:15pm. If interested, feel free to speak with Coach Faust at the Meet and Greet or bring your shoes and your “A game” to try-outs!
On September 13th, Coach Faust will be announcing who made the program. A week later on September 20th, Coach Faust will be hosting a parent meeting for those who made the program at 6:30pm in the Skybox.
GO WOLVES!!
WDV Archery Try-Outs and Information
On September 20th, there will be an Archery Informational Night at 6:30pm in the Black Box.
There will be a Mandatory Safety Meeting for any interested Archers on either 10/3 or 10/4 at 4:15pm to 5:30pm at the Blacktop Basketball courts – You cannot practice or try out without attending
Archery Training: 10/10 through 11/1 (Tuesday or Wednesday) 4:15pm.-6:00 p.m. Blacktop Basketball courts – Must have attended a safety training
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- Tuesdays – Da Vinci Science and Da Vinci Connect Students
- Wednesday – Da Vinci Communications and Da Vinci Design Students
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Try Outs to Make the Team: 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM Blacktop Basketball courts
- November 7th Round 1 and November 14th round 2: DVS and DV Connect Students
- November 8th Round 1 and November 15th round 2: DVC and DVD Students
Important Info about Try Outs:
- Two rounds of tryouts will be held using Olympic ranking criteria.
- Archers will be ranked based on their highest scores from both rounds.
- The top 20 archers will secure a spot on the team.
- The remaining participants will be invited to try out again next year.
- We will inform all students about team status on the Friday before Thanksgiving break
WDV welcomes Rafael Carranza as Boys Varsity Soccer Coach
Greetings DV family, today we would like to introduce Rafael Carranza, the new Boys Varsity Coach for our Athletics Program here at Da Vinci Schools. This is now his fourth year with DV as a Campus Safety Officer and second year under athletics as he was the JV coach for the Boys soccer team last year. The entire DV family has been very welcoming and kind and look forward to building this program to where I know it can be.
Born and raised just 5 mins from El Segundo in a city named Lennox, Rafa has been familiar and apart the South Bay for his entire life. From a very young age, he has played sports and quickly learned soccer was a passion of his that would stick with him his entire life. Playing varsity all four years at Lennox Academy, Rafa was able to experience a true student athlete life. After high school, he decided to not pursue sports in college and attended Cal State Northridge. As he continued to play competitively in adult leagues in the South Bay, he quickly realized that he truly missed the competition of playing the way he once did as a student, which is when he decided to learn the life as a soccer coach. Learning from my mentor, Rafa quickly became an assistant coach for his old high school and began coaching the elementary and middle school in Lennox.
With now having 10 years of coaching experience, he knows he is beyond ready and excited to begin this journey with Da Vinci. Rafa has high standards set, not only for this program but for himself and his coaching staff. The competitive nature sports has instilled in him is what has kept the fire burning in growing and learning each day. Even in Rafa’s free time, you can always catch him cheering on every LA team from the Dodgers to the Lakers and waking up early mornings to watch Chelsea FC play. He is excited to get this program started and create a successful and sustainable program here at DV for years to come. Go Wolves!
WDV welcomes Duane Faust as New Girls Basketball Coach
Today, we here at Da Vinci are happy and honored to announce that Duane Faust has joined our staff as the Head Coach of Varsity Girls Basketball. We look forward to the tremendous sports and professional experience Duane brings to our schools as well as the Wiseburn Da Vinci Girls Basketball Team. As administrators, staff, players and parents, Duane has expressed a personal interest in bringing us all together to map out the “pursuit of excellence” for our children academically and athletically. I couldn’t think of a better coach to achieve both for us.
Coach Duane Faust was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts while being raised in Washington D.C. and the surrounding suburbs. Growing up his home life was centered on faith in God and family. Early on, it was evident that Duane developed two interests – basketball & business. He excelled in his high school basketball career by attending and graduating from DeMatha Catholic High School, the #1 nationally ranked basketball team in 1985. Duane’s DeMatha team featured NBA players such as Danny Ferry and Jerod Mustafa of the Washington Bullets and Phoenix Suns respectively. Although being on a star-studded #1 high school basketball team in America, Duane flourished and earned Maryland High School All Star credentials as a senior coupled with a four-year scholarship to attend the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) in 1986. At UMBC Duane’s talent, skill and drive became more evident earning him top 50 college freshman honors and going on to become a one-thousand-point UMBC player. His shooting achievements still have him listed as the 19th all-time school scorer in UMBC history.
After an extensive basketball career, Duane decided to go into business and mortgages where he used his competitive drive to work for some of the biggest banks in the industry including Wells Fargo, Countrywide and Bank of America. Duane’s intimate knowledge of the mortgage industry ultimately led him to start his own mortgage company that grew to his overseeing 53 employees and managing 3 million in revenue annually.
While business was also a passion for Duane, in 2014, he decided to return to his first love of basketball seizing an opportunity to coach his daughter, Alana Faust, at her middle school, Wiseburn Middle School (formerly Dana Middle School). At Wisebrun, Duane achieved phenomenal success once again having winning seasons in all 7 years he coached as well as claiming the league championship in 2015. Even after his daughter Alana had left Wiseburn, Duane continued to coach the Wiseburn girls’ basketball team to success; instilling the principals of discipline, work ethic and character into his players the same way he did with his daughter Alana, who went on to become league Volleyball MVP here at Da Vinci and his other daughter, Maleah Faust, who plays for the Varsity Girls Volleyball team currently.
Therefore, please join me in welcoming Duane home to his roots where his own children have represented our school so well as he looks forward to doing the same as a part of our staff.
Sincerely,
Nicholas Davidson
and
Kevin Kohigashi